A unique selling proposition can define your business focus, both internally and externally. It lets your staff and your customers know why your business is different and why customers should buy from you instead of someone else. The unique selling proposition can serve as a central theme for marketing campaigns and motivate business decisions. By defining what sets you apart, you can turn it into a competitive advantage.

1. Analyze your competitors to find out their strengths and weaknesses. Test their products to get a sense of the overall quality and research performance statistics. Analyze their marketing materials to find out which features and benefits they focus on and to see how they position themselves in the market.

2. Evaluate your company's strengths and weaknesses. Identify how you provide value: low prices, great service or innovative solutions, for example. Compare your strengths with your competitors' to find out what you do better. Find the things that set you apart, making sure to include things the customer doesn't know about, like a more-lean manufacturing process or strong supplier relationships. For more insight, talk to your employees, who might have a more in-depth knowledge of processes.

3. Talk to members of your target market to find out what is most important to them. Ask what they look for in a similar product or service: features, benefits, or price, for example. Send out surveys, hold focus groups or have your employees hit the streets. Talk to as many potential customers as possible to find out what motivates them to purchase one product over another.

4. Look for market opportunities that your company can fill. Identify groups that are left out of competitor strategies or people who are underserved. Analyze published data or trends that indicate changing audience needs or changes in the demographics of your target market. Using this information, find the things your company is able to do to provide more value for your customers.

5. Note the places where the customer needs, your strengths, market opportunities and competitors' deficiencies meet. At the intersections, you will find the things that you do well and that meet a demand in the market. Identify the top two or three items to identify your unique selling proposition. Distill the overall concept into a simple sentence to define your competitive advantage.

About the Author

Elizabeth Smith has been a scientific and engineering writer since 2004. Her work has appeared in numerous journals, newspapers and corporate publications. A frequent traveler, she also has penned articles as a travel writer. Smith has a Bachelor of Arts in communications and writing from Michigan State University.